120 Actors Who Have Directed (Occasionally)

These are people principally known as actors who have directed a feature-length movie with a theatrical release on a single occasion, or just a few occasions. One of their most famous titles is listed.

Actors who have directed at least 4 movies are listed in a previous post

1. Al Pacino - Looking For Richard (1996)
2. Alain Delon  - Le Battant (1983)
3. Alan Rickman  - The Winter Guest (1997)
4. Albert Finney - Charlie Bubbles (1967)
5. Angelina Jolie - In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011)
6. Anjelica Huston - Agnes Browne (1999)
7. Anna Karina  - Vivre ensemble (1973) 
8. Anne Bancroft  - Fatso (1980)
9. Anthony Hopkins - Slipstream (2007)
10. Anthony Quinn - The Buccaneer (1958)
11. Antonio Banderas - Crazy in Alabama (1999)
12. Ben Affleck  - The Town (2010)
13. Bill Murray  - Quick Change (1990)
14. Bill Paxton  - Frailty (2002)
15. Billy Crystal  - Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
16. Bruce Lee - The Way Of The Dragon (1972)
17. Burgess Meredith  - The Man on the Eiffel Tower (1949) 
18. Burr Steers - Igby Goes Down (2002)
19. Burt Lancaster - The Kentuckian (1955)
20. Burt Reynolds  - Gator (1976)
21. Campbell Scott  - Big Night (1996)
22. Casey Affleck - I'm Still Here (2010)
23. Charles Laughton - The Night of the Hunter (1955)
24. Charlton Heston - Antony and Cleopatra (1972)
25. Chris Rock  - Head of State (2003)
26. Cliff Robertson  - The Pilot (1980)
27. Crispin Glover  - What is It? (2005)
28. Dan Aykroyd  - Nothing But Trouble (1991)
29. Daniel Auteuil - The Well-Digger’s Daughter (2011)
30. Danny Huston - Mr. North (1988)
31. David Duchovny  - House of D (2004)
32. David Schwimmer - Trust (2010)
33. Dennis Hopper  - Easy Rider (1969)
34. Denzel Washington  - Antwone Fisher (2002)
35. Diane Keaton - Hanging Up (2000)
36. Dick Powell - The Enemy Below (1957)
37. Drew Barrymore - Whip It! (2009)
38. Dyan Cannon  - The End of Innocence (1990)
39. Ed Harris - Pollock (2000)
40. Eddie Murphy  - Harlem Nights (1989)
41. Edward Norton - Keeping The Faith (2000)
42. Ethan Hawke  - Chelsea Walls (2001)
43. Forest Whitaker  - Waiting to Exhale (1995)
44. Frank Sinatra - None But the Brave (1965)
45. Gary Oldman - Nil by Mouth (1997) 
46. Gary Sinise - Of Mice and Men (1992)
47. Gene Wilder  - The Woman in Red (1984)
48. George C. Scott  - Rage (1972)
49. George Peppard  - Five Days from Home (1979)
50. Gérard Depardieu  - The Bridge (1999)
51. Jack Lemmon - Kotch (1971)
52. Jack Nicholson - The Two Jakes (1990)
53. James Caan  - Hide in Plain Sight (1980)
54. James Cagney - Short Cut to Hell (1957)
55. James Mason  - Rome in Madrid (1964)
56. Jeanne Moreau - Lumière (1976)
57. Jet Li - Born to Defense (1986)
58. Joan Chen  - Autumn in New York (2000)
59. Jodie Foster - Home For The Holidays (1995)
60. Joe Mantegna  - Lakeboat (2000)
61. John Malkovich  - The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
62. John Mills - Sky West and Crooked (1966)
63. John Wayne - The Green Berets (1968)
64. Johnny Depp  - The Brave (1997)
65. Justin Theroux  - Dedication (2007)
66. Karl Malden  - Time Limit (1957)
67. Kevin Bacon  - Loverboy (2005)
68. Kevin Spacey - Beyond the Sea (2004)
69. Kirk Douglas  - Posse (1975)
70. Klaus Kinski - Paganini (1989)
71. Laurence Fishburne  - Once in the Life (2000)
72. Laurence Harvey - The Ceremony (1963)
73. Leslie Howard - The Gentle Sex (1943)
74. Liev Schreiber  - Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
75. Lionel Barrymore  - Madame X (1929)
76. Liv Ullman - Faithless (2000)
77. Mark Ruffalo - Sympathy for Delicious (2010)
78. Marlon Brando - One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
79. Martin Lawrence  - A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
80. Martin Sheen  - Cadence (1991)
81. Matthew Broderick  - Infinity (1996)
82. Max Von Sydow  - Vid Vagen (1988)
83. Maximilian Schell  - Marlene (1983)
84. Michael Keaton  - The Merry Gentleman (2008)
85. Monica Vitti  - Scandalo segreto (1990)
86. Morgan Freeman  - Bopha! (1993)
87. Nicolas Cage  - Sonny (2002)
88. Noel Coward - In Which We Serve (1942)
89. Paddy Considine - Tyrannosaur (2011)
90. Peter Fonda - The Hired Hand (1971)
91. Peter Sellers - Mr. Topaze (1961)
92. Peter Ustinov - Billy Budd (1962)
93. Philip Seymour Hoffman  - Jack Goes Boating (2010)
94. Ralph Fiennes  - Coriolanus (2011)
95. Ralph Richardson  - Home at Seven (1952)
96. Richard Burton - Doctor Faustus (1967)
97. Richard E. Grant  - Wah-Wah (2005)
98. Richard Harris - Broomfield (1971)
99. Richard Pryor  - Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
100. Ricky Gervais  - The Invention of Lying (2009)
101. Robert De Niro - The Good Shepherd (2006)
102. Roddy McDowall - The Devil's Widow (1970)
103. Rosanna Arquette  - Searching for Debra Winger (2002)
104. Sally Field  - Beautiful (2000)
105. Sam Shepard  - Silent Tongue (1993)
106. Shirley MacLaine  - Bruno (2000)
107. Sophie Marceau  - La disparue de Deauville (2007)
108. Steve Buscemi - Trees Lounge (1996)
109. Tilda Swinton  - The New Ten Commandments (2008)
110. Tim Robbins - Dead Man Walking (1995)
111. Tim Roth - The War Zone (1999)
112. Tom Hanks - That Thing You Do! (1996)
113. Tommy Lee Jones - The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
114. Toshiro Mifune  - Legacy of the 500,000 (1963)
115. Vera Farmiga  - Higher Ground (2011)
116. Vincent Gallo - Buffalo '66 (1998)
117. Walter Matthau  - Gangster Story (1959)
118. Will Hay  - My Learned Friend (1943)
119. William Shatner  - Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
120. Zach Braff - Garden State (2004)

80 Actor-Directors- with Prominent Movie Careers in Both Fields

The first kind of actor-director to spring to mind are those who, like Chaplin, Woody Allen and Kenneth Branagh, often act in and direct the same movie.

Then there are the film-makers like Robert Redford and Richard Attenborough who have achieved success in both fields but at different periods and who usually don’t mix their roles on one movie.

A third group are those who are still very much associated with one field rather than the other -e.g. Paul Newman with acting, Tarantino with directing- but have made more than just a few forays into the other field. I have included directors like Tarantino if some of their roles are fair-sized speaking parts but not the likes of Hitchcock and Oliver Stone who just have tiny, blink-and-you’ll miss-it cameos in their own films. I have included actors if they have directed at least 4 feature-length movies.

A separate list of actors who’ve directed very occasionally will be coming soon.

1. Alan Alda
2. Alan Arkin
3. Albert Brooks
4. Anthony Perkins
5. Barbra Streisand
6. Ben Stiller
7. Billy Bob Thornton
8. Burt Reynolds            
9. Buster Keaton
10. Carl Reiner                                         
11. Charlie Chaplin
12. Christopher Guest
13. Clint Eastwood
14. D.W. Griffith
15. Danny DeVito
16. Dennis Hopper
17. Edward Burns
18. Eli Roth
19. Emir Kustirica
20. Erich Von Stroheim
21. Fatty Arbuckle
22. Francois Truffaut
23. Gene Kelly
24. George Clooney                     
25. Griffin Dunne
26. Harold Ramis
27. Ida Lupino
28. Jackie Chan
29. James Toback
30. Jean Renoir
31. Jerry Lewis                 
32. John Cassavetes
33. John Huston
34. John Sayles
35. John Turturro
36. John Waters
37. Jon Favreau
38. Kenneth Branagh
39. Kevin Costner
40. Kevin Smith
41. Laurence Olivier
42. Leni Riefenstahl
43. Leonard Nimoy
44. Lionel Barrymore
45. Martin Scorsese
46. Mathieu Kassovitz
47. Maximilian Schell
48. Mel Brooks
49. Mel Gibson
50. Nanni Moretti
51. Nikita Mikhalkov
52. Orson Welles
53. Paul Bartel
54. Paul Newman            
55. Peter Bogdanovich
56. Peter Mullan
57. Quentin Tarantino
58. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
59. Richard Attenborough
60. Rob Reiner
61. Robert Duvall                                     
62. Robert Redford
63. Roger Vadim
64. Roman Polanski
65. Sean Penn                 
66. Sergei Bondarchuk
67. Sidney Poitier
68. Sofia Coppola
69. Spike Lee
70. Stanley Tucci
71. Stephen Chow
72. Sydney Pollack
73. Sylvester Stallone
74. Takeshi Kitano
75. Thomas Mccarthy
76. Victor Sjöström
77. Vittorio De Sica
78. Warren Beatty            
79. Werner Herzog
80. Woody Allen